emetic

the word emetic is a direct borrowing from the greek emetikos, which itself derives from the verb emein, meaning "to vomit." the suffix -ikos was a common greek adjectival ending, creating a word that literally means "pertaining to vomiting." this greek term passed into latin as emeticus and subsequently into modern english, retaining its precise medical meaning. the logic is transparent: the core morpheme emet directly denotes the action of vomiting, and the suffix ic classifies it as an agent or quality related to that action.

Structure: emet (vomit) + ic (adjective suffix) emet (from greek emein, meaning "to vomit"); ic (from latin -icus, greek -ikos, an adjective-forming suffix meaning "pertaining to").